The 42nd annual Adirondack Balloon
Festival will be held Sept. 18-21 at Floyd
Bennett Memorial Airport (Warren County
Airport).
The festival is free and open to the public.
All balloon flights, however, are weather
permitting. The event has drawn from 125,000 to
150,000 people over four days in past years,
festival officials said.
The festival begins Thursday, Sept.
18, at Crandall Park in Glens Falls
from 4:30-6:30 p.m. There will be a musical
performance by the Stony Creek Band, opening
ceremonies at 5 p.m. and beginning at
5:15 p.m. there will be a flight of up to 20
balloons.
The City of Glens Falls will hold a block
party 6:30-9 p.m. in the park featuring balloon
baskets on display, a car show and kids’
activities.
On Friday, Sept. 19, at Floyd Bennett
Memorial Airport, 443 Queensbury Ave.,
Queensbury, the gates open at 3 p.m. for a
craft fair, kids’ activities and food vendors
open for business
At 5 p.m., there will be a flight of up to
80 balloons.
On Saturday, Sept. 20, events start at 5
a.m. at the airport. A “big balloon breakfast”
is scheduled. There will also be food vendors
from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day. The craft fair
will continue, as will kids’ activities, including
bounce houses, a rock climbing wall and
an aircraft display.
Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. spectators
will see a flight of up to 100 balloons. At 10
a.m. there will be a bicycle tour of the airport
sponsored by Warren County Safe and
Quality Bicycling Organization. From 3-4:45
p.m. there will be a musical performance by
the Bovee Brothers.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, there will be another
flight of up to 100 balloons. From 6:15-7:45
p.m. there will be a musical performance by the Jonathan Newell Band.
At 8 p.m. Saturday is the popular “Lighting
Up The Night” Airport Moonglow featuring
30-plus balloons.
Sunday, Sept. 21, there will be another
“big balloon breakfast.” There will also
be food vendors from 6 a.m. to noon that
day. The craft fair continues, as does kids’
activities, including bounce houses, a rock
climbing wall and an aircraft display.
At 6:30 a.m. there will be a flight of up to
100 balloons + shapes.
The weekend winds down in Crandall
Park with the Beatles tribute band Across
the Pond performing from 2-5 p.m. There
will be a launch of 20-plus balloons at 5 p.m.
Organizers said making its Adirondack
debut this year will be a Darth Vader balloon.
The balloon will be making three major U.S
appearances in 2014 including Reno, Nev.,
Alburquerque, N.M. and in Queensbury.
“This has been a long time in the planning,
more than five years, to work out the
logistics to get this balloon here” says Mark
Donahue, president of the festival’s board
of directors. The balloon was built in the
United Kingdom in 2007 with LucasFilm
involvement and will be piloted by Michel
and Benoit Lambert.
Special VIP parking will be available
once again this year. Designated parking
at the airport’s main entrance is available
for $15 for the weekend. Parking passes
can be purchased online at www.adirondackballoonfest.
org and at Glens Falls
City Hall Clerk’s office, Queensbury Town
Office, Warren County Municipal Center
( Treasurer’s Office) and Warren County
DPW offices in Warrensburg.
The Adirondack Balloon Festival is a
nonprofit organization. It is operated by
volunteers and relies on community support
for its funding. For more details visit:
www.adirondackballoonfest.org or call:
222-4593.
Photos Courtesy Adirondack Balloon Festival